Lionel Messi would be perfectly suited to Manchester City amid ongoing doubts over his future at Barcelona, according to Pablo Zabaleta.
Barca superstar Messi is out of contract at season s end and the record six-time Ballon d Or winner has been heavily linked with Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain and Premier League giants City.
A move to City for Messi would mean a reunion with former Barca boss Pep Guardiola – the pair teaming up to win two Champions League titles and three LaLiga crowns among other honours between 2008 and 2012.
Ex-City and Argentina full-back Zabaleta backed countryman Messi to swap Barcelona for Manchester.
Mr. Saturday Night
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona)
If Lionel Messi decides to leave Barcelona and he…
Manchester City have completed the £55.5million signing of Belgium winger Jeremy Doku from Rennes, the Premier League champions have announced.
The 21-year-old has signed a five-year deal with the treble winners to become their third major signing of the summer transfer window.
City had an offer for the player accepted earlier this week and formalities have been completed over the past couple of days.
Welcome to City, !
— Manchester City (@ManCity)
Doku said: “This is a great day for me, both personally and professionally. Manchester City are the best team in world football, so to be joining them is something very special for me and my family.
“I am a young player with so much learning and improving to do. Working with (manager) P…
Mauricio Pochettino will leave Chelsea by mutual consent after one season in charge, the club announced on Tuesday.
Despite a poor start to the season, Pochettino led Chelsea to a sixth-place finish, confirming a European place an improvement on their 12th-place finish in 2022-23.
He also led them to the EFL Cup final and the semi-final of the FA Cup.
Only four teams – Liverpool, Man City, Arsenal and Newcastle – had a better xG figure than Chelsea (75.3) in the Premier League in 2023-24, while only three – Man City, Liverpool and Arsenal – had more shots on target than Chelsea (215).
Speculation surrounded Pochettino s position during the latter stages of the Premier League campaign, though he remained tight-lipped about his future.
The A…
Ryan Christie believes the Scotland squad has the “perfect” mix as it looks to take a giant step toward Euro 2024 against Cyprus.
Steve Clarke’s side have won their first four qualifiers to sit top of Group A, eight points ahead of Georgia and Norway and nine ahead of Spain, albeit the Spanish have only played two fixtures.
After thrilling wins, most notably away to Norway and at home to Spain, the Scots are looking to at least extend their unbeaten run to nine games in Larnaca on Friday, hoping to eventually reach a second successive European Championship finals.
Scotland then host England in a 150th anniversary match at Hampden and can qualify that night if results in the other group games go their way.
Stepping it up
— Scotland Nation…
UEFA announced on Tuesday it had received four bids to stage the Euro 2016 championships by Monday s deadline. They are France, Italy, Turkey and a joint bid from Sweden and Norway
European football s governing body will next examine the submitted details of the bids to confirm which are eligible to go forward to the next stage.
UEFA s executive committee will take a final decision on or about May 27, 2010. The 2012 tournament will be held jointly by Poland and Ukraine.
…
Bayern Munich have confirmed that midfielder Jamal Musiala will be out for the time being after picking up a hip injury in their Champions League defeat to Aston Villa.
Musiala, who played in the second half of the 1-0 loss at Villa Park, has been ruled out for Bayern s upcoming Bundesliga fixture against Eintracht Frankfurt on Sunday.
He will also miss Germany s Nations League fixtures against Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Netherlands, with Julian Nagelsmann replacing the 21-year-old in his squad with Stuttgart s Jamie Leweling.
Musiala has been in fine form for Vincent Kompany s side, scoring three goals and laying on three assists in eight appearances in all competitions.
The midfielder also has the joint-most completed dribbles in the Bundesliga t…
Verona have parted ways with head coach Marco Baroni by mutual agreement, the Serie A club confirmed on Monday.
Baroni took charge of Verona in July 2023, signing a one-year contract with an option for a second year, but leaves the club after one season at the helm.
The Italian won nine of his 38 league games, finishing with a win rate of 25 per cent as the Gialloblu battled relegation for much of the campaign, but managed to steer them clear of the bottom three.
It was the second time Baroni had been in management at the Stadio Marcantonio Bentegodi having been appointed as Alberto Malesani s assistant for the 2002-03 season.
Verona was the 16th club he has managed since starting his managerial career with Rodinella 24 years ago, and was thanked by his…
Costa Rica coach Luis Fernando Suarez will be hoping his direct approach pays off when his side take on Japan on Sunday.
Spain thrashed Costa Rica 7-0 on Wednesday in one of the standout results of the World Cup s early games.
Costa Rica conceded as many goals in that match as they had across their previous eight games at the tournament combined. They also failed to have a single shot against Spain, just the second instance of a side failing to have an attempt on goal in a World Cup match since 1966, after Costa Rica themselves against Brazil in 1990.
Japan, meanwhile, shocked Germany by winning 2-1 in the other Group E game.
Costa Rica have never beaten Japan, losing three of their four previous meetings.
Asked what his side needed to do to addr…
Saudi Arabia defender Yasser Al Shahrani has undergone successful surgery after being involved in a horror collision with his own goalkeeper in his side s shock World Cup win over Argentina.
Al Shahrani was caught in the face and stomach by Mohammed Al Owais knees as the Saudi keeper attempted to claim a high ball late on in Tuesday s Group C contest at Lusail Stadium.
The Al Hilal player, who has been capped 73 times for his country, was stretchered off the field and later flew back to Riyadh to be operated on.
Saudi Arabia confirmed on their official Twitter page on Thursday the surgery was successful, but it is not known if Al Shahrani will play any further part in the World Cup.
Yasser Al Shahrani underwent a successful surgery in Riyadh
—…
Iran head coach Carlos Queiroz questioned the disinformation about threats against his players and praised their efforts despite being eliminated from the World Cup after a 1-0 defeat to the United States.
Christian Pulisic s first-half goal was enough to condemn Iran to a loss in their final Group B game at Al Thumama Stadium on Tuesday.
Iran s players took part in an apparent display of solidarity with anti-government protesters in the country when they chose not to sing the national anthem ahead of their first game in Qatar against England.
Human rights groups say more than 400 people have lost their lives amid the repression of protests in Iran, which began following the September death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman who died in police custody after bein…